TRENTON — One of the city’s favorite sons is 18 days away from opening Your Big Easy restaurant at 120 South Warren Street, inside the famed Maxine’s building with its Gatsbyesque look and feel, where for years business ventures have come and gone like days of the month. Olugbala Sababu, a 51-year-old master chef, knows all about Maxine’s colorful incarnations, like when it was called Casa Lido’s and catered to the gay community, to when reputed mobster Red Pontani ran the joint before getting pinched by the feds.

Now comes another vision for Maxine’s by an agent of change, a military man, a restaurateur whose Swahili first name means “savior of the people.” He promises that his 8,500-square-foot “destination” — with a stairwell that leads up to a wrap-around balcony — will create jobs and spur economic growth to a downtown area that goes dark once the 25,000 state workers go home at 5 o’clock. He also promises that his fingerprint will be on every Your Big Easy recipe full of American, Caribbean, cajun, creole, southern and New Jersey deli dishes. Three cooks from Mercer County Marriott hotels — two from Trenton, one from Hopewell — have signed on to run the kitchen at The Big Easy.

On Saturday, Sababu was into his 100th hour working to get Your Big Easy ready for the June 21 opening. Walk inside Maxine’s, then look at Sababu’s tired eyes, and you’ll understand the challenge to make Your Big Easy’s June 21 opening a reality. Yet the energy on South Warren continues to attract energy. Over the course of an hour Saturday, a few dozen cars drove past Maxine’s. Many of the drivers slowed down and honked at Sababu to get his attention or yelled from their windows. He hollered back. “We’ll be ready in three weeks!” Fist-pumps emerged from windows as drivers continued toward Lafayette Street.

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The 1976 Trenton High grad and corporal in the United States Army is one of eight Sababu brothers who love to create in the kitchen because, he said, “It’s been birthed into us from our ancestors.”

Amefika Sababu runs Amefika’s, a Trenton landmark for almost 40 years on Stuyvesant Avenue. Olugbala said he conceived the idea for Your Big Easy a year ago. Besides the food and fun, Sababu said patrons can expect the “12 steps of service.” There will be valet parking, and a small army of security will keep troublemakers far away. In other words, Sababu said, people who come to Your Big Easy will get what they pay for.

About six months ago, word leaked out that a new Brazilian barbecue joint was going to open inside Maxine’s. Brazilian BBQ? Sweet. Mouths began to water. Brazilian posters lined the windows. The buzz was on. Then nothing happened and Maxine’s remained dark, empty. Mouths dried up. Many folks on The Trentonian’s Facebook page talked about when Maxine’s was the place to go for salsa dancing. Others remember the shootings and street fights that broke out there because hoods kept acting like fools. Some remember it was a “cool place to go” for parties without the drama. There’s a story in the Sept. 7, 2005, issue of U.S. 1 Newspaper that recounts the excitement surrounding the opening of Jamaican-themed eatery called Maxine’s 2. It was owned by Dino Cummings and his mom, Jennifer Legore, who also owned the Coconut Restaurant near Helen Fuld. Both eateries are gone.

His business partners and lifelong friends said Sababu’s meticulous implementation of ideas are reasons Your Big Easy will become Trenton’s mecca for fine dining. Sababu said he has rock-solid financial backing and plans to use his success in Trenton to expand his vision to South Beach, Chicago, New York and Los Angeles.

“I have known Olugbala for nearly two decades, and he helped me set up shop for my book business at a restaurant he and his brother, Amefika, operated in Trenton’s west ward. They took me under their wings, and Olugbala has been a supporter of and contributor to many individuals’ and organizations’ growth and development ever since,” said Tim Razzaq, a longtime community organizer and green jobs advocate. “I see him continuing and expanding on that legacy with his latest venture, Your Big Easy, and I am honored and excited to be working very closely with him to bring about positive and catalytic events and activities in downtown Trenton.”

“His food is a home run,” said Dan Toto, one of his longtime friends.

The Trentonian will continue to cover Your Big Easy as Sababu works around the clock to usher in a new era of Gatsby on South Warren. Until then, here are the master chef’s ideas to make his place the exception to the rule that businesses open South Warren Street only to die a quick death.

On jobs and night-weekend life in downtown Trenton: “I envision Your Big Easy to be a hospitality jobs generator for Trenton’s downtown business district by offering a broader range of choices in food and entertainment to both Trenton residents and the thousands of government workers who come into downtown every day. We want to give everyone a reason to stay in town after work hours and provide a venue for artists and organizations to showcase their talents and causes. Our brand will also attract folks from the New York and Philadelphia regional markets, as the “Olugbala” brand is well know and the former Maxine’s has become a landmark facility in its own right. With the internet, this power to reach our regional neighbors is just that much stronger. Social media tools aught to help us create the buzz we need to be successful.”

On nonprofit support: “This facility can serve as fundraising venue for area nonprofit organizations. We want to build mutually beneficial partnerships in order to help the many groups that provide social support services as well as those who need financial and material resources to advance their causes, like caner prevention, autism, and help for people with disabilities.”

On food: “Again, we want to harness the power of the tens of thousands of state, county and local employees by offering attractive nightlife opportunities after works-hours. They will now have an opportunity to enjoy a culinary offering that will consists of elements of various culinary traditions, including standard American, Caribbean, cajun, creole, southern, and New Jersey-style Deli. This blend will become more diverse as we grow, and we will welcome feedback and suggestions from our customers about the types of food they want to enjoy with us.”

On entertainment: “As our culinary offering grows and expands, we want our creative class to continue to develop and catalyze positive social change and personal empowerment. Whether it’s gospel, inspirational, jazz, rhythm and blues, country, spoken word, alternative or any of the many musical forms, we want to be able to provide area and regional acts a chance to take advantage of our momentum, share their gifts and genius and help be a catalyst for positive growth.”